Globetrotters and Local Heroes? Labor Migration, Basketball, and Local Identities

Bibliographic Data

ID5829917
AuthorsMark Falcous (0000-0003-2317-521X), J Maguire (0000-0003-3547-2799)
Year2005
Volume22
Issue2
Pages137-157
Publication date2005-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociology of Sport Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0741-1235 • E-ISSN: 1543-2785
PublisherHuman Kinetics (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1123/ssj.22.2.137
OpenAlexW2096234798
LanguageEN
Citations received18
References cited36

This article addresses the global migration of sports labor. The contested presence of North American players in English basketball, first documented by Maguire (1988), is considered in the context of questions regarding the reception of migrants in local cultures. A 2-year ethnographic project incorporating participant observations, interviews, and focus groups investigated fans' consumption of local basketball. Complex and nuanced interpretations of migrant players were evident. These were informed by local identities and civic pride, cultural stereotypes, and local experiences of spectating. Thus, the presence of migrant athletes is viewed specifically through the local lens-responses were shaped by the varying roles and interpretations of consuming basketball in the lives of local residents. Such observations reinforce the need for empirically grounded case studies to explore local consumption in light of the wider political-economic patterning of global sport

Basketball · Consumption · Participant observation · Pride · Music History and Culture · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts · Sports, Gender, and Society

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